My Trip To Japan: Gashapon Toy Machines

Gashapon machines are everywhere. They are in the front of stores, the subway stations, and just about anywhere there are people. You put 200 or 300 yen into the machine, turn the handle, and a small toy in a plastic bubble comes out. Each machine had 5 to 10 toys in some type of theme. I think the idea is to get the entire collection. However, the toy that comes out is entirely random. I'm sure some people spend a small fortune collecting all of their favorites.

One of my favorite Gashapons was cats dressed up as sushi. There was another one that had girls dressed up as items from a hamburger shop. One girl was a hamburger, another an order of fries, and you can guess the rest.

The area around this group of gashapon machines was busy every time I passed it by. It looked like the employees could barely keep the machines filled. This must be one of the best business' to own in Japan. I wish that I had bought a few gashapons when I was there.